Suggestion for wiki/sticky post

[JohnBailey]

Hi All
I've been having an interesting if frustrating few weeks of research lately. Who knew buying a saw would be so problematic..

It seems next to impossible to find information on scroll saws. General information.. no problem. Some nice tutorials too. But the manufacturers don't seem to want to know.
In fact, it would be a reasonable assumption to think they were not really interested in selling the things at all..

Which brings me to the suggestion..

How practical would it be to start a new sticky thread or even better, a wiki with detailed information on the various saws on the market?

I mean things like close up detail on the blade clamps and tensioning mechanism, good side front and top pictures that allow actually seeing the saw in detail. Which bits are cast iron, which are aluminium/plastic etc. Nothing too in depth.
And if the poster feels up to it, perhaps a few notes on things like weight, noise, vibration etc.. And a link to the PDF manual if one exists.

If this suggestion is well received, I can promise I'll review and photograph which ever saw I get, providing someone doesn't beat me to it..

If this has been proposed before and rejected, my apologies for bringing it up again.

 

[Mouse]

Count me in John

 

[StevieB]

Its a nice idea, but generally there are so few saws for the UK market that the adage of 'you get what you pay for' is very apt indeed. I can think of multiple saws for the bottom end of the market and very few at the top end. The general rule of SIP for beginners, Axminster AWFS18 for intermediate or rich beginners and Hegner for top-end or rich intermediates is the way I usually split the market when people ask. There are a few reviews on this forum, and specific questions are generally answered if one of us has the saw in question. Not sure the UK scroll saw market is large enough for an ever updating wiki?

Steve

 

[Mouse]

Well that fell flat John

 

[JohnBailey]

Well that fell flat John

Yep.. It's a pity. I still think there is a definite need for such a resource. But as we seem to be the only ones interested, not gonna happen.

Looks like not that many people blow through here, so the few "What saw do I get" posts don't cause problems like similar questions do on other forums..

I'll still write a review of the saw I get and post it somewhere though.. Even if it's just a regular post here. At least it will turn up when people search for the model.
Scroll saw village has a wiki. Perhaps I could put it there too.

http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/wiki/in ... =Main_Page

By the way.. I realised after we talked, you are the one who posted about modding the SIP saw. I'm pretty much settled on that one, so I'll be ordering the same handle as soon as I try my saw out. Thanks for the tip.

Everywhere seems to be out of stock until the start of next month, so I'm trawling the net for patterns and resources in the meantime.

 

[Mouse]

Scroll saw village, that really is a great site.
If you check out the pattern requests section you will see the photo of Duke and the superb pattern Ron did for me within a few hours. I'm now trying to get to grips with GIMP the software a lot of the designers on there use.Whatever you decide to do,if you need a hand, just shout.

 

[JohnBailey]

I'm now trying to get to grips with GIMP the software a lot of the designers on there use.Whatever you decide to do,if you need a hand, just shout.

Good luck with Gimp. It can be a bit confusing at times, but it is worth persevering with. And a damn sight cheaper than Photoshop...
A couple of video podcasts that are fairly useful are www.meetthegimp.org And Gimp Knowhow on Youtube.

Another free program that you might find useful is Inkscape. A pretty good vector program. I would imagine that would be more useful than a bitmap editor.. Same price as Gimp too.

 

[Mouse]

Hi John,

I had a look at inkscape but found it to difficult to for me use, I'm getting old. I am used to fairly simple image programs like Photo Studio. GIMP is similar with a lot more bells and whistles

 

[JohnBailey]

Hi John,

I had a look at inkscape but found it to difficult to for me use, I'm getting old. I am used to fairly simple image programs like Photo Studio. GIMP is similar with a lot more bells and whistles

Not exactly in the first flushes of youth myself..

It is one of those programs where if you need it, nothing else will do. Gimp would be good for bringing down the colour palette so you end up with what is almost a ready made pattern, but for complex shapes you need to get to fit just right, Vector graphics applications do the job far better.

Once you get the hang of Gimp, give it another go. Some of the basic concepts are similar.